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Technopaths
The Most Sacred Colleges of the Sanctus Magos Machina, better known as the Church of Dis or the Technopaths, are a religious organisation established by Mr Schratz during the founding of the City of Dis. The Technopaths are the official state religion of Dis and maintain absolute authority concern any topic regarding the matters of the spiritual. Their headquarters are located within the Shangri-la District of the City, while their de-facto base of operations is the Sanctum Magos, located deep within the Land of Barb. The Technopaths are a highly militant organisation who operate in loosely connected cells across the surface of Gehenna. Divided into four colleges, the religion was created under the instruction of the Rocket Man out of the four largest cults that declared him a prophet. The Technopaths believe that Schratz, the greatest living man, is the chosen voice of the Archangel Magos, the patron saint of technology, and that it is his destiny to deliver the faithful into the arms of God through his magnum opus, the God-Ship. The Technopaths regard the God-Ship as a physical manifestation of their deity and that all technology is a sacred gift from their patron angel. Technopaths believe that by salvaging, reverse engineering and constructing technology is the greatest act of worship and that it is their sacred duty to collect as much knowledge as possible. The destruction or bastardising of technology is viewed as the ultimate blasphemy and an offence to the God-Ship they revere. While fanatical and violent in their methods, the Technopaths care little for the slights and heretical thoughts of the many thousands of barbaric clans and scavenger colonies in the desert. To them, their duty is to preach the word of the prophet and to gather as much sacred knowledge and technology as possible to add to their God-Ship. Bands of Technopaths, guarded by their mechanical warriors, roam the desert as missionaries, sometimes preaching their faith in the towns that would have them, other times purging those who threaten their way of life. The Technopaths are one of the most prominent enemies faced on Gehenna. Origins The Technopaths are not a singular organisation. They are in fact a loose affiliate of different colleges, given legitimacy under the authority of their prophet, Mr Schratz. Many of these colleges operate independently of one another and can vary drastically in their laws, doctrine and loyalties. Many of these factions often only share three traits, the traits necessary to be deemed a collage of Technopaths; acceptance of Mr Schratz as the prophet; the acceptance of the divinity of technology; and the idolisation of the God-Ship. The religion itself was born from the stories told by Mr Schratz, back before he was the prophet and leader of the City of Dis. Huddled around campfires, clutching their food and precious water, the people who came and went in the bases of the Red Horde listening to the tales that Schratz told. By word of mouth, these tales spread far and wide until they reached the ears of those men and women who sought to use them to further their own ends. From Schratz's teachings, several cults began to emerge, each claiming to be the one true voice of the Rocket Man. A war between these opposing cults was inevitable. Differences of opinion often spur men to commit hideous acts against one another. Concerning matters of faith, these acts are as cruel as the god that permits them. As Mr Schratz and the Red Horde laid siege to the mesa that would one day be the City of Dis, religious fervour spread throughout the world, and carnage soon followed. For such trivial things as the place Mr Schratz arrived, or what colour the faithful should wear to honour the god in the sky, brother fought against brother, ancient tribes tore themselves apart and once proud and strong settlements burned in the fires of fanaticism. The cults that had grown like cancer from Schratz' toxic teachings gathered whatever forces they could muster and battled one another, each claiming to be the one true voice of the Man who Builds Rockets, whose stories opened the eyes of the long repressed. It would be many years before these religious wars were put to rest, long after Schratz had conquered the Promised land and established his City. Angered by the turmoil wrought in his name, the now firmly established Prophet demanded that the leaders of the four largest cults grace him with an audience. By this time, many of the cult leaders had grown to both love and fear the Man who Builds Rockets and decided to heed his word as they did not wish to see their holy leader angered. Together, in the presence of Mr Schratz, in the shining walls of the Bastion, the four leaders argued over the dogma they saw as truth. One argued that war was the most sacred expression of worship, while another argued that the consolidation of technology was the greatest. Who these men were and which organisation they were a part of mattered not, as Mr Schratz had other plans in mind. Having grown to release that the lands of Gehenna could never be truly tamed, Mr Schratz decided that turmoil and disorder amongst his enemies were just as desirable. He decreed that each of the cults saw only a part of the whole picture. He announced that all four would receive official recognition and together would become the first true Church of Dis. With their idolisation of Schratz greater than their hatred of each other, the four leaders accepted the order and set aside their differences. Thus the Colleges were born, and the word of Saint Magos spread throughout the world. Structure The Technopaths have no fixed structure. Each of the colleges operates under its own rules and traditions and seldom shares their secrets with another. In a sense, the Technopathic Colleges are each an cell of a much larger ideology, entirely independent and free to dictate their faith in whatever way they believe is best. Should one technopathic college be destroyed, its destruction is of little consequence of the others. There are many hundreds of colleges that make up the Church of the Sanctus Magos Machina. They are spread out across Gehenna and are most often comprised of a few zealots and metal men and often hold influence over a small hermit or a few settlements. However, there are four colleges that together comprise over two-thirds of the Technopaths. These four colleges are the founders, the largest and most influential doctrines that all other colleges were born from. Their official names are: * College of the Righteous Blade (Swords) * College of the Bountiful Chalice (Cups) * College of the Divine Sceptre (Wands) * College of the Blessed Star (Pentacles) Each of these colleges is each a nation, comprised of their own army, their own governing body and own settlements. They control vast swathes of land and hold power over many millions of the faithful. Each order utilises their own legions of Metal Men, often many thousands in number, and command a number of Rigs and war -parties that they use to assert their authority wherever they venture. Each of these Colleges follows the strict structural rules that Schratz created. Each College is divided into fourteen Schools. Each of these Schools operates its own church and carries out its own work in the service of God. Ten of these Schools are the missionaries. They are battlegroups, tasked by the ecclesiarchy of their College to undertake missions in the deserts of Gehenna. The remaining four are the upper Schools where the elite of the College resides. Each of these four upper Schools is represented by a figure known as an Abbott-General, while the ten lower Schools is headed by an Abbott. The sole person that binds these many feuding Colleges together is Mr Schratz, their divine prophet and emissary of the holy angel Magos Machina. Mr Schratz's authority over the technopaths is absolute. Should he command an entire College to destroy themselves, his faithful would do it without question. Many believe that when Schratz dies the Colleges will turn against one another. This schism, coined the 'Fracture', is believed to be predestined by many and will usher in a new age of war greater than even that of the Age of Warlords.